Looking for help and feedback on picking a TESC degree plan

[hightecrebel]

Hello everyone, I've lurked here for awhile, but haven't really focused on pursuing a bachelor's degree until recently (major life/career changes will do that to you, I guess). I'm trying to decide which of the following degrees to pursue first: BA in History, BSBA in General Management, or a BA in Criminal Justice. I currently have ~118 SH between CLEP, DSST, CCAF, and a few classes through AMU. I'm hoping to get some help figuring out what is likely to transfer under the various degree plans so I know which would require the least number of credits to achieve a degree. My courses are listed at the end of this post.

I expect that my duplicate CCAF course numbers will be invalid for more than a few credits. They were awarded for different things at different times, but I'm trying to plan worst-case scenario. I'm also expecting my English Composition and Freshman College Composition exams to be worthless, and am scheduling a College Composition (w/ Essay) test date. From what I've been able to figure out, I THINK a BA in History will be the lowest credit hour requirement for me, likely ~42 credits required, 33 of which I could probably knock out with exams (including TECEP's to meet residency requirements). I've been trying to plan this out using degree plans off of the wiki, IrishJohn and Westerner's History BA's, Bricabrac and Levi's General management BSBA, and Sanantone's Criminal Justice BA. I feel like I'm most likely missing something here, and would like to figure it out for certain before the time comes to apply to TESC (~2 months, was suggested by the advisors that I wait and apply once I'm out so I don't shift to VA benefits in the middle of classes).

CLEP/DSST
HUMANITIES
SOCIAL SCIENCES & HISTORY
INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY
INFORMATION SYSTEMS & COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
FRESHMAN COLLEGE COMPOSITION
ENGLISH COMPOSITION
HISTORY OF THE US II
HISTORY OF THE US I
ANALYZING & INTERPRETING LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION TO THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST
WESTERN EUROPE SINCE 1945
PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT
COLLEGE COMPOSITION (scheduled)
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING (scheduled)


AMU
COMM200 PUBLIC SPEAKING
HLSS231 HISTORY OF EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL
MATH110 COLLEGE ALGEBRA

CCAF
LMM1101 LEADERSHIP/MANAGEMENT I
LMM1102 MANAGERIAL COMMUNICATIONS I
LMM1103 MILITARY STUDIES I
ACT1207 AIRCREW QUALIFICATION
EEO1201 AIR CONT & WARN OPER I
EEO1206 AIR CONT & WARN OPER III
EEO1213 AIRBORNE WARN & CONT SYS
EEO1215 INFLIGHT ACTIVITIES AWACS
ACT1207 AIRCREW QUALIFICATION
EEO1213 AIRBORNE WARN & CONT SYS
EEO1214 AIR WARN & CONT TRN DEV
EEO1215 INFLIGHT ACTIVITIES AWACS
ACT1207 AIRCREW QUALIFICATION
INT5000 JOURNEYMAN

TEEX
CYB101 - Cybersecurity for Everyone - Non-Technical
CYB201 - Cybersecurity for IT Professionals - Technical
CYB301 - Cybersecurity for Business Professionals - Business Managers

[sanantone]

You might be closer to a history degree, but the BSBA in General Management is the most test friendly. Not only will you probably have to take an UL course in history that you can't test out of, but you will also have to take the liberal arts capstone. You don't have to take any college courses for the BSBA. All of the requirements can be completed by testing and/or Straighterline/ALEKS courses. The BA in Criminal Justice is not test friendly at all, and it looks like you have little to no criminal justice courses. Why are you looking at those 3 degrees? They are very different. Another option would be a BA in Social Science. That would allow you to mix history and some criminal justice courses.

[hightecrebel]

I'm looking at those because each one opens paths I'm interested in. All three would allow the possibility of commissioning in the AF. History has always been my favorite subject and I would eventually like to teach it, General Management, in conjunction with my military experience, is looked at favorably by a number of companies that I've talked to, and Criminal Justice would open up the various LE agencies that I've always been interested in. And I've just noticed the lack of CJ courses on my credit post, I'm going to need to dig around and find where they went. I'll edit that with the course and exams I've taken. I know I did Law Enforcement and Substance Abuse exams, and I had a Terrorism & Law Enforcement course as well...now to find those.

[KayV]

What about a BSAST from TESC in Technical Studies, Aviation Flight Technology, or Military Technology Leadership?

[sanantone]

Which LE agencies are you looking at? Very few LE agencies require a degree at the local and state level. When they do require a degree, they rarely require or even prefer a specific degree. At the federal level, the DEA doesn't care about your major. The U.S. Marshals Service has a preference for criminal justice and sociology degrees, but a criminal justice degree can actually hurt your chances of getting hired by the FBI.

[hightecrebel]

What about a BSAST from TESC in Technical Studies, Aviation Flight Technology, or Military Technology Leadership?

And this would be a sign of me not doing enough research. I did not see any of those when I was looking through the TESC website. As soon as I learn more about them, they might replace the rest.

Which LE agencies are you looking at? Very few LE agencies require a degree at the local and state level. When they do require a degree, they rarely require or even prefer a specific degree. At the federal level, the DEA doesn't care about your major. The U.S. Marshals Service has a preference for criminal justice and sociology degrees, but a criminal justice degree can actually hurt your chances of getting hired by the FBI.

I'm actually looking at the Air Force Office of Special Investigation, Federal Air Marshals, and BATFE. The first two prefer CJ degrees, BATFE doesn't have a preference.

And now I'm off to research the BSAST's...

[sanantone]

I'm actually looking at the Air Force Office of Special Investigation, Federal Air Marshals, and BATFE. The first two prefer CJ degrees, BATFE doesn't have a preference.

Where did you hear that the Federal Air Marshals prefer criminal justice degrees?
OLE/FAMS Positions | Transportation Security Administration

Air Force OSI also doesn't specify a preference for criminal justice degrees. They don't specify a preference for any degree, but you would be better off studying something that would give you a specialized skill that will give you priority.

What are other "Quality Ranking Factors"?

Any degree above the bachelor's level is considered a "Quality Ranking Factor." Others are foreign-area specialty; foreign language abilities; training or experience in forensic sciences; training or experience in computer sciences; training or experience in polygraph administration; and training or experience in the technical services specialty.

Does fluency in a foreign language give me any priority over applicants without a language skill?

It depends on the position. Fluency in a foreign language is considered a "Quality Ranking Factor," as listed on the announcements. A Quality Ranking Factor may or may not be used to make the hiring decision, based on the position being filled.

http://www.osi.af.mil/questions/civilian.../index.asp
http://www.osi.af.mil/questions/civilians/

I don't think the criminal justice degree should even be considered if you only want it for employment purposes because it's not going to help you much for employment purposes. A lot of people make the mistake of getting a criminal justice degree because they think they need it in order to become a law enforcement officer. That is incorrect and the reason why criminal justice majors have the highest underemployment rate and relatively high unemployment rate among recent graduates. If you're only targeting one or two agencies that have a preference for the degree, then what are you going to do if you don't get hired by those one or two agencies? We have a member here, OfficerA, who is in the military. He said that servicemembers often make the mistake of getting a criminal justice degree and have trouble finding employment.

[hightecrebel]

Where did you hear that the Federal Air Marshals prefer criminal justice degrees?
OLE/FAMS Positions | Transportation Security Administration

Air Force OSI also doesn't specify a preference for criminal justice degrees. They don't specify a preference for any degree, but you would be better off studying something that would give you a specialized skill that will give you priority.

http://www.osi.af.mil/questions/civilian.../index.asp
http://www.osi.af.mil/questions/civilians/

Looks like I might have misread a FAM posting on usajobs.gov, as I was basing my information for them off of that.

The OSI preference came from discussions with the OSI unit here on base, and I believe was for commissioning as an OSI agent and not for the civilian side, I'll have to contact them again to get confirmation of that.

But I can say that CJ is no longer on the list for pursuit, as there are other degrees that would work for most of what I want to do. BSBA in General management is in the lead now, but that's only because I can't find anything on the Technical Studies, Aviation Flight Technology, or Military Technology Leadership BSAST's.

***EDIT***

I found the BSAST's, and Aviation Flight Technology is out. Pursuing a private and then commercial pilots license is not part of the picture right now. Technical Studies and Military Technology Leadership are possibilities, and I'm going to have to take some time and see what would apply form things I already have, and what would be required to finish them out.

[UptonSinclair]

The BSBA is very alt-ed friendly. I was able to knock out most of the specific requirements through Straighterline and Penn Foster. For employment purposes, I believe it will be much more valuable than a history degree. My suggestion is to knock out the BSBA and then if you still want a history degree, take your time and enjoy the courses. If you plan to teach history, testing out of the courses wouldn't be the best option in my opinion. The writing experience of actual history courses will be valuable when you tackle a Master's degree.

Your Managerial Communication course from Airman Leadership School should meet the degree requirement for the BSBA. TESC gave me an exception since I had two credits rather than three.

[hightecrebel]

The BSBA is very alt-ed friendly. I was able to knock out most of the specific requirements through Straighterline and Penn Foster. For employment purposes, I believe it will be much more valuable than a history degree. My suggestion is to knock out the BSBA and then if you still want a history degree, take your time and enjoy the courses. If you plan to teach history, testing out of the courses wouldn't be the best option in my opinion. The writing experience of actual history courses will be valuable when you tackle a Master's degree.

Your Managerial Communication course from Airman Leadership School should meet the degree requirement for the BSBA. TESC gave me an exception since I had two credits rather than three.

Valid point on the not testing out part. I'll focus on the general management degree and move on from there.

Thank you all for your help.